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Spicy Ramen Noodles

Ramen, who hasn’t heard of these delicious and hugely popular noodles? Ramen are a staple noodle in Japanese cuisine and are especially beloved by students who are guaranteed to have at least one pack of instant ramen noodles in their cupboard! Ramen is such big business that there are museums dedicated to this humble noodle in Yokohama & Osaka!

Originally from China, Japan has taken ramen its heart with an endless number of variations and regional flavours. This week we’ve mixed Japanese and Korean flavours together to create a fiery hot ramen recipe for you. Using Korean chilli paste called gochujang and quality restaurant-style ramen from Hiroshima, this ramen recipe will blow your socks off! An easy beginner ramen recipe and particularly tasty when you add plenty of authentic Japanese toppings.

How to prepare

First begin by preparing your chosen toppings. You can fry the shiitake mushrooms and bamboo shoots with a little soy sauce to give them a richer flavour. Although naruto fishcakes don’t have much flavour on their own, the pink spiral definitely adds a touch of colour to your ramen noodle soup so slice up a few pieces of it for the bowl.

The preparation of your ramen is very easy, simply boil water in a large saucepan, then add the noodles and let them simmer for about 3 minutes.

While your ramen is cooking, grab a bowl and add the sachet of soup as well as the gochujang to it. Add 300ml of hot water and mix until the ingredients are well diluted.

Lastly, add your drained noodles to the bowl, then your prepared toppings. Like many types of Japanese cuisine, presentation is key to a perfect bowl of ramen. As Japanese people say, most of your feelings of hunger come from your eyes, not your stomach! :)

Tips and information

There are many different styles and regional recipes for ramen including:

• Spicy Tantanmen Ramen: Tantanmen is originally a Chinese dish called ‘dandanmian’, a Szechuan noodle speciality with a reddish, spicy chilli and sesame soup, usually containing minced pork and garnished with chopped shallots and chilli.

• Hakodate Style Salt Ramen: The local ramen speciality of the northern town of Hakodate located on the island of Hokkaido in the north of Japan. Its ramen is a big hit among locals and tourists and is characterised by a clear and light salt based broth made from pork and chicken.

• Hakata Style Tonkotsu Pork Ramen: These delicious instant Hakata ramen have a tonkotsu pork base and are the speciality of the southern town of Hakata, now part of Fukuoka, on the island of Kyushu.

• Hot & Spicy Miso Ramen: A fiery, spicy miso ramen for those who like things hot! These spicy ramen have a delicious miso soup base and a Korean-style chilli kick.